Rughooking by Elizabeth Martel

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Monthly Archives: September 2015

It’s s great to be hooking again each week with the Sunshine Rug Hookers……. to see what everyone is doing…..how rugs have progressed, and what new projects are underway.

Fiona has finished more of her wonderful ‘Green River’…showing her and her husband on the dock of their home. I was particularly impressed with the forest at the top and her use of purples and turquoises for the evergreen trees…..so effective. What a keepsake this will be.

Joanne was doing a remake on this delightful piece. It was a pillow, which she was de-constructing to become a flat hooked mat or wall hanging. The three circles stand for love, marriage and motherhood. (if I remember correctly).

Ann was completely sold out of her stars at the Quilt and Rug Fair, with requests for more, so she was working away on a new batch. She is using an orangy-yellow soft ribbon”y” stuff to create that sparkly effect. (I’m sure there is a proper name for it)

Karen and Mary are finishing up their pieces from the fine shading course they took with Linda Wilson in the spring.

This is Karen’s. Her dramatic background colour sets off those flowers so well.

Mary is also using a beautiful deep blue background.

Chris and Brenda attended a class during the summer with Bea Grant. It was on combining penny rugs, appliqué, and hooking. Chris is applying her ‘show binding’ to her appliquéd crow. Brenda promises she will let me photograph hers when it is done. (going to hold you to it Brenda)

Gail and Cheri have just returned from their yearly hiking trip in New England.

With no hooking project underway, last night Cheri quickly drew up a Christmas banner, and got it started this morning.

Gail brought along a number of t-shirts she bought at a sale they stumbled on during their trip, and she was getting them ready to use as the background for a new “wonky” Christmas tree piece.

Judith is sewing the binding of this lovely geometric.

The background is Harris tweed recycled from a skirt she found , gave away, and eventually was given back. Quite a background to that background!

Gail L. is starting this lovely bell pull.

I always love Elizabethan designs.

Marion is making a hot pad. The colours and designs are reflective of a painting in the dining room of the friend that she’s making it for.

Isabelle is nearly finished this welcome mat. Love the chain border, and the lettering.

The larger cat is to receive a new grey nose that will show up against the background. Right now that kitty can’t smell the flowers.

Jeanne is completing this Rittermere pattern that she bought on a sale table at R.U.G. Some of the flowers had been completed, and the wool was included.

Jeanne had no idea how old the piece was, but she said the burlap was hard and rather brittle. She had an ingenious way of coping with that. She sprayed the whole thing gently with cooking oil and massaged it into the burlap. It is now soft and flexible. How smart is that.

Erma’s beautiful oak leaves remind us that tomorrow is the first day of Fall.

Liz said she completed this rug a year or so ago, although I don’t remember seeing it before. She is also an accomplished spinner and uses her own yarn to great effect in her hooking.

…..using a combination of wool strips, purchased yarn, and her own wonderful colours. (she spun the bronze/gold wool shown here). She uses a lot of mohair which she feels gives her wool extra vitality.

Diane is completing Hilda Hayes’ last rug.

Hilda’s granddaughter drew the picture and Hilda was in the midst of hooking it for her new great granddaughter when she became too ill to complete it. What a special keepsake it will be and what a lovely gesture by Diane to complete it.

I had every intention of taking pictures at the Quilt, Rug and Craft Fair last weekend, but once again, I forgot to take my camera. I am still hopeful of receiving photos taken by others, and if I do, I’ll be sure to share them.

As with all my hooking, creating the background for Grumpy Owl is an ongoing process. After failing miserably with my first attempt (the blues), My inspiration came from this misty moon photo.

I took a yard of Dorr natural, and ripped it into 1/8th yard pieces. I began by dyeing each one with 1/128th tsp golden pear. One piece I left that way for the surface of the moon. The others I spot overdyed with a variety of colours, singly and combined……pink sand, cantaloupe, mouse grey, clay, and charcoal (1/128th tsp) (pro chem colours).

This is what I ended up with….….these 6, plus two others with double the golden pear background (which I didn’t like)The moon is now underway.

…and I like the general background effect.I added some smudgy wisps of clouds in front of the moon……..and darker colours toward the bottom. To make the edges of the moon a little brighter, I edged it with one row of #3 cut Dorr natural.I felt I didn’t have enough contrast, or deep enough colours for the bottom, so I overdyed these two pieces with pink sand and mouse grey.…the jury is still out on the bottom part.

I discovered that while this piece was too bright and had too much contrast….

if I flipped it over and used the other side…..….it was muted and created lovely highlights.

I still felt that the moon didn’t “pop” quite as much as I’d like, so last night, I removed the outline strip, and the 3 cut highlight, and added a wider outline in Dorr natural.

I don’t particularly like it close up, but, but from a bit of a distance, it gives the moon some backlight “glow”.

It has been a while since I’ve done this large a background in a 4 cut…..I think somebody keeps enlarging the spaces!

I’m looking forward to the Quilt, Rug and Craft Fair at the Simcoe County Museum which runs from Sept 18 to 20. Drop by if you can. It is always a feast for the eyes, with many disciplines of fibre arts on display and for sale.